Steve Howey

Steve Howey is an American actor best known for playing Van Montgomery on the sitcom Reba and Kevin Ball on Shameless. As of 2026, he stars as Captain Nick Wagner on ABC's crime procedural High Potential. With over 30 film and TV credits spanning 25 years, Howey has shown range from broad comedy to dramatic intensity. His film work includes Bride Wars, Something Borrowed, Game Over, Man!, and Day Shift alongside Jamie Foxx. Fans appreciate his everyman charm and physicality, often showcased in fitness-focused roles.[edit]

Howey grew up in a military family, moving frequently across Texas, Oklahoma, and Colorado. His father, Bill, was a U.S. Army veteran and high school football coach, which meant sports were central to his upbringing. Howey played quarterback at Lovejoy High School in Lucas, Texas, and was a standout athlete. He earned a football scholarship to Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado, then transferred to the University of Texas at Arlington but left before graduating.

Acting found him by accident. A friend dared him to audition for a campus production of The Foreigner; he landed a role and was hooked. In 1999, he moved to Los Angeles, working as a bartender while taking acting classes. His first professional gig was a non-speaking background role on the TV series Get Real in 2000. The following year, he auditioned for the part of Van Montgomery on Reba. After multiple callbacks, he was cast, but the role required him to gain 40 pounds of muscle to play a high school football player. He achieved that by eating 5,000 calories a day and lifting weights six days a week.[edit]

Howey's breakout came in 2001 when he joined the cast of Reba as Van Montgomery, the sweet, dim-witted husband of Reba's daughter. The sitcom ran for six seasons and 125 episodes, averaging 5-7 million viewers per episode. After the show ended in 2007, he transitioned to film, appearing in Bride Wars (2009) and Something Borrowed (2011).

In 2011, he landed the role of Kevin Ball on Showtime's Shameless, a dramatic departure from his sitcom roots. Over 11 seasons, he played a former football player turned bar owner grappling with addiction and family turmoil. The role earned critical praise and made him a fan favorite. During his tenure, Shameless became Showtime's highest-rated series, averaging 1.5 million viewers per episode in later seasons. He also starred in the Netflix action-comedy Day Shift (2022), which was viewed by over 50 million households in its first month. In 2024, he joined ABC's High Potential as Captain Nick Wagner, a role that showcases his dramatic chops in a procedural setting.[edit]

Howey is known for his muscular physique and rugged casual style, fitted tees, jeans, boots, and often a beard. The media portrays him as a "nice guy" and an everyman, emphasizing his Texas roots and blue-collar work ethic. His on-screen persona ranges from broad comedy on Reba to dramatic intensity on Shameless. Fans of Shameless frequently discuss his character Kevin Ball on Reddit, and he participates in fan conventions like Wizard World and Comic-Con. On Instagram, he mixes promotional content with workout videos and family moments, using humor and self-deprecation in captions. His social media following includes 1.2 million on Instagram and 450,000 on Twitter.[edit]

Steve Howey commands a loyal, broad audience defined less by obsessive digital rituals and more by decades of consistent recognition across genre television. His fanbase is the collective viewer who has followed his evolution from the boisterous Van Montgomery on Reba to the gritty Kevin Ball on Shameless, appreciating his physicality and everyman charm without needing a formal cult identity. Unlike idol groups with organized campaigns or dedicated fan-funded projects, Howey's supporters engage through standard social media interactions and convention appearances rather than underground lore or viral street events. There is no documented name for this community, reflecting an audience that values the actor's reliable performances over manufactured mythology. The landscape of his career recently shifted with professional milestones rather than fan-driven chaos; reports confirmed his departure from High Potential in April 2026 after a dramatic cliffhanger, while casting news in July 2026 announced his role in Netflix's Ransom Canyon. These are industry transitions celebrated by viewers, not legendary moments of crowd disruption. Despite his extensive filmography and two million Instagram followers, iFANN's Global Fame Engine evaluated Steve Howey as EVALUATED_UNRANKED, meaning he currently holds no placement in the published Global Top 1,000 rankings. He is not listed in any Top-100 scope list, standing outside the current numerical hierarchy of global fame.[edit]

Before stepping into the spotlight, Howey was a quarterback in high school and briefly played college football, laying the groundwork for his athletic screen presence. To transform into Van Montgomery, he gained 40 pounds of muscle by consuming 5,000 calories daily and lifting six days a week. An avid martial artist, he has trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai for over a decade, performing many of his own stunts on Shameless including jumping off a bridge into a river. His personal life intersected with his career when he met ex-wife Sarah Shahi on the Reba set during her guest appearance in the 2004 episode "The Houseguest." Beyond acting, he is a licensed scuba diver who has explored the waters of Belize and the Maldives, and a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan who attended Super Bowl XLV in 2011. His first job was a non-speaking background role on Get Real. Recent career shifts include his departure from ABC's High Potential in April 2026 following a season-ending cliffhanger where his character was left gravely injured. Later that year, he debuted as Levi in Season 2 of Netflix's Ransom Canyon, transforming his appearance so significantly that co-star Josh Duhamel noted he was unrecognizable.[edit]

Howey's father, Bill Howey, served in the U.S. Army and later worked as a high school football coach. His mother, Brenda, was a homemaker. He has two younger siblings: a brother named Scott and a sister named Shannon. The family moved often due to Bill's coaching career. Howey was married to actress Sarah Shahi from 2007 to 2021; they have three children together: twin sons William Wolf and Roman (born May 2009), and a daughter Violet Moon (born March 2015). He co-parents with Shahi and has said fatherhood is his top priority. He has a tattoo of the word "Family" on his left forearm dedicated to his kids.[edit]

Howey frequently collaborated with Reba McEntire on Reba (2001–2007) and with the ensemble cast of Shameless, including Emmy Rossum and William H. Macy. He worked with Jamie Foxx on Day Shift (2022) and with Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway on Bride Wars (2009).[edit]

Howey met actress Sarah Shahi on the set of Reba in 2004, where she guest-starred. They began dating in 2005 and married on February 7, 2007. The couple had three children: twin sons William Wolf and Roman (born May 2009), and a daughter Violet Moon (born March 2015). In 2020, Shahi filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences; the divorce was finalized in 2021. The split was amicable, and they co-parent their children. As of 2026, Howey has not been publicly linked to anyone new and appears to be focused on his career and family.[edit]

Per iFANN's editorial analysis, Steve Howey's net worth stands at $10 Million as of 2026. This figure reflects a career built on long-running television roles rather than sporadic blockbuster hits. He commanded an estimated $50,000–$75,000 per episode during later seasons of Shameless and earned between $30,000 and $40,000 per episode on Reba. His film work includes a reported salary of $500,000–$750,000 for Day Shift alongside Jamie Foxx. Real estate transactions have bolstered his portfolio, featuring the sale of a Sherman Oaks home for $1.6 million in 2022 and ownership of a property in Austin, Texas purchased for $800,000. Endorsement partnerships with Ford and MuscleTech provided additional revenue streams, though no publicly documented business ventures exist beyond these deals. Residuals from the syndication of Reba and Shameless continue to generate passive income, stabilizing his financial standing across twenty-five years of industry work.[edit]

Howey has won several awards, primarily as part of ensembles. He received a TV Guide Award in 2007 for Favorite Family (cast of Reba), a Young Hollywood Award in 2002 for One to Watch (Reba), a Prism Award in 2013 for Performance in a Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline (Shameless), and a Gracie Award in 2013 for Outstanding Drama Series (Shameless).[edit]